Book 47. Project Management
for Dummies, by Stanley E. Portny. Paperback.
I read this book to prepare for a
class I am teaching in the Spring semester. It is a class I haven’t taught in a
number of years, so I read this to refresh my memory on the general topic. I
like using non-textbook textbooks in class, mostly because they are so much
less expensive that traditional texts. But I’m not going to use this formally
in the class. As effective as some of these titles might be, students don’t
like being called “Dummies.” They can be kind of touchy.
This was
a very good refresher on the concept of project management. All of the basic
topics are covered, including scheduling, budgeting, managing a team, and
effective communication. Each of these topics is covered in two to four
chapters, with plenty of checklists and diagrams.
The
biggest problem with any book like this is that can become out of date very
quickly, especially where technology is involved. Portny does a good job
keeping references to technology generic, not focusing on specific features of
specific software packages.
Like most “Dummies” books, this
is organized to be a user-friendly reference. I read it straight through, but
someone involved in an actual project can look up the specific topic that they
need to review. If an introduction to the broad topic is what someone needs,
this is a good place to get one.
Source: My wife purchased this
for work, probably from Barnes & Noble.
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